Published: 02/06/2021
With the petrol and diesel ban likely to be enacted in Ireland from 2030, electric and hybrid vehicles are rapidly becoming a reality of everyday life, rather than just a future prediction.
Although no legislation has yet been passed, the Irish government currently has a target to end the sale of cars powered just by fossil fuels by 2030 and predicts there will be 936,000 electric vehicles on Irish roads by 2030.
According to the Minister for Transport, there were almost 30,000 EVs under taxation in Ireland as of the end of February 2021. This includes almost 15,000 BEVs (battery electric vehicles) and almost 15,000 PHEVs (plug in hybrids).
In March 2021, 2,831 new electric cars had been registered in Ireland, compared to 1,650 in the same period 2020. Demand for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles continues to increase, with their combined market share now over 11%.
And, as this popularity continues to grow, we are inevitably seeing more electric vehicles entering the total loss arena.
As the numbers continue to grow and change, so does society’s pre-conceived perceptions of a typical EV owner. Consumers across the globe are becoming increasingly conscious about the environment and more people are determined to play their part by investing into low emission vehicles. EV owners are no longer being perceived as a small niche buyer base, they are growing and diversifying.
The good news for the major insurance companies that we work with, is that electric vehicles are not new to Copart.
Our team in the UK has already been handling them for around eight years, so we’ve already been receiving plenty of support, training, and advice, thanks to their extensive expertise in this area.
Gerry Traynor, MD of Copart Ireland, said:
“The petrol and diesel ban is now less than a decade away in the UK, so we’re anticipating similar changes will follow in Ireland. Although there will still be a strong market for affordable, used petrol and diesel models, it’s inevitable that we’re going to see an increase in the number of electric vehicles entering the vehicle remarketing sector.”
As electric vehicles become a larger percentage of the overall mix of vehicles that our insurance customers handle, they will be looking towards Copart to provide our expertise for total loss decision making. The complexity of parts and specific requirements for safe handling means higher cost of repair for these types of vehicles, and insurers will need assistance in making the right decisions.
Investment always starts with our people…
We’re proud to be part of a business which is already a market leader in electric vehicle handling and remarketing, and we have made significant investment into training teammates at our Operation Centre in Castledermot to work safely with EVs and hybrids. This means we can thoroughly and expertly assess these vehicles for insurers, to enable them to make confident and accurate total loss cost decisions.
There are certainly some hurdles ahead before Ireland can become fully electric, with much work still to be done in strengthening the charging infrastructure, but it is clear that an electric future is now a certainty.
At Copart Ireland, we’re ready, and are staying ready, to support the changing demands in our industry as the electric vehicle market continues to develop and grow!
Sources:
Briscoe, N. (2021). Ireland new car registrations March 2021. Available: https://www.completecar.ie/car-news/article/10867/Ireland-new-car-registrations-March-2021. Last accessed 2nd June 2021.
moneyguideireland.com. (2021). Electric Cars in Ireland – Some Facts and Figures. Available: https://www.moneyguideireland.com/electric-cars-facts-figures. Last accessed 2nd June 2021.
